Remember how Pandora graced TiVo Premiere units just a few short weeks ago? Well, the company didn’t forget about about Series 3 and and HD users. Oh no, if you happen to check the Music, Photos, & Showcases section you’ll Pandora is now an available option. How nice. → Read More
Tivo users are now (well, later today) able to manage their season pass subscriptions from their Web browser. I’ve been led to believe that this has been a heavily requested feature for some time now, so good to see Tivo acquiesce → Read More
TiVo already has an impressive lineup of internet apps on their DVRs but the offering just got a little more musical thanks to Pandora. Nearly all of Pandora’s trademark features including access to the Music Genome Project is available in the app. Users can thumb up or down artists and create personalized radio stations on the fly. Existing Pandora users can sign into their accounts or new accounts can be created via an on-screen interface — no computer required.
Pandora is just the latest app to hit the TiVo Premiere platform. It joins other music apps such as Rhapsody, Live365, Music Choice as well as Netflix, BlockBuster, and YouTube. It clearly signals that TiVo is commented to adding killer applications to their devices although this update is probably the first of many that passes-over older TiVo boxes such as the Series3 or HD line. The company moved to something totally different with the Premiere and the older platforms might not get all the goodies as the new model. Oh well. I guess it’s time to upgrade. → Read More
Google, Apple, Microsoft, Netflix, Amazon — when you hear these names, you usually think about how these tech giants all compete with one another. But what if they all teamed up for one cause? They’d be unstoppable, right? We’re about to find out.
All of these companies are currently sitting in the same boat about to storm the beaches. Which beaches? Those belonging to the the cable television providers in the U.S. It has only just begun, but the assault is underway.
Let me start by saying that of course the cable companies aren’t about to go away. Even if the mega assault by the tech juggernauts is successful, it will be many years before everyone’s addiction to cable gives way to something else. But it will. And that something else will be content served over the Internet. → Read More
Europeans, take note: Tivo could soon be coming to your neighborhood in a big, big way. The company’s president and CEO, Tom Rogers, said that it’s looking to gain more of a foothold in the larger European markets, including the UK and Spain, in order to broaden its horizons a little bit. Dulling some of the pain from that recent $15.3m loss wouldn’t hurt, either. → Read More
Good news for those of you in Cox-served areas of the country: TiVo is working with Cox to provide Cox’s VOD service via your TiVo Premiere box. This will be the first cable VOD available on a retail DVR, so feel privileged! It’ll be available “early next year,” and (presumably starting then) Cox will be promoting TiVo Premiere boxes and providing free installation. Sounds like a good deal all around. Full press release below… → Read More
If you’ve never heard of the DTVPal DVR – or DTVPal tuner, don’t worry, you’re not alone. The DTVPal DVR was an interesting device that was a cross between a VCR and a DVR. VCR because it could record shows based on time – unlike the better TiVo model, where it records by show – and DVR because it was, well, digital. → Read More
TiVo is having a very rough morning.
A federal appeals court stated today that it will revisit a digital-video recorder patent dispute between TiVo and both Dish Network and EchoStar. TiVo has sued the companies back in 2004 over its patented DVR technology back when the two were still a single company.
They won the suit, but the court has now decided to reconsider its verdict, which is a bit of a cold shower for the company.
Today’s decision pushed TiVo shares down as much as 36 percent. → Read More
Reasonably interesting study coming out of Duke University that says that digital video recorders (TiVo and the like) do not negatively affect television advertising at all. That flies in the face of conventional wisdom, wisdom that says TiVo and its ilk have destroyed the TV business forever. Well, that’s just not the case. → Read More
Just in case the 1TB drive in the TiVo Premiere isn’t big enough for you, WeaKnees is now selling two upgraded models with a bit more storage capacity. The TiVo authorized reseller has a 2TB and 4TB Premiere available for $849 and $149, respectively. That’s a lot of recording storage, boys and girls, and currently the only way to get a larger drive in the Premiere. → Read More
One of the three points I laid out as TiVo’s keys to survival was to partner with more content providers. And just like that, Virigin Media announced it will be offering TiVo set-top boxes to its 3.8 million subscribers sometime this year. This move, along with the Conax partnership, makes TiVo a major player in the European DVR market. See, I told you the company didn’t deserve the deathwatch label. → Read More
The TiVo Premiere will be here real soon so it isn’t much of a surprise to see a Series 3 on Woot. You might want to consider it, too. The Series 3 might be old, but it’s still a great DVR. It even has a few advantages over the TiVoHD line and upcoming Series4. → Read More
HP keeps the fun rolling with its MediaSmart Windows Home Servers. It’s called the HP MediaSmart Expander for TiVo, but don’t let the name fool you, it doesn’t directly increase your TiVo’s storage. The app, however, still has some nice features and might be a worthy replacement for the TiVo Desktop program. → Read More
TiVo can’t catch a break. The company just rolled out its next-gen platform and then finally ended a long court battle with Dish Network, causing its stock to surge to new heights. This all happened within the last two weeks. But then last night the company announced its sad Q4 2009 financials.
You already know the problem. TiVo is having a real tough time signing up new customers and retaining current ones as content providers keep pushing their low-price DVR options. The company only managed to net 46k new subscriptions in the last months of 2009, bringing the total headcount to roughly 2.6 million. That’s down from the 4.36 million subs TiVo had in January 2006. TiVo ended up losing $10.2 million during the fourth quarter even though revenue improved 16% to $68.5 million.
It’s sort of sad, actually. DVRs have lost their magic the last 10 years as cable companies offer cheap alternatives with smaller feature sets and none of the trademark TiVo charm. But TiVo can’t die yet. I’m not ready to live in a TiVo-less world. The company must work on these three items in order to survive the next decade. → Read More
TiVo has long been limited to just a few countries, but that’s set to change thanks to a new agreement between the DVR company and Conax, a Norwegian content security supplier. The deal has the potential to reach over 100 million potential TiVo customers, spanning 80 countries. This could be big. → Read More
Watch the latest business video at video.foxbusiness.com In case you missed it, TiVo launched new products last night, the TiVo Premiere. The big news isn’t the hardware, it’s the software that’s dramatically different than the previous versions and the CEO went on to Fox Business to explain it to the talking heads. Oh and he said this, “Hulu would be great. As soon as they authorize it we are hoping to find a way to do it.” Interesting, eh? → Read More
Greetings! Nicholas and Jimin here live from the big TiVo Premiere launch in New York. There was a man guarding the device, which was hidden under a cloak, but when the cloak was lifted, oh dear! The gist: this is a TiVo you’re probably going to want. HD menus (build using Adobe Flash), searching that actually makes sense, a fancy remote control, and other goodness that you wouldn’t mind. → Read More
Sorry, TiVo owners. Your TiVo HD and HD XL boxes will not be getting the swanky new software TiVo announced today according to an official TiVo spokeswomen we just asked. It probably has something to do with the fact that the Premiere hardware is the same as the current generation and therefore current owners would have little reason to upgrade to the new models. This isn’t very customer focused, TiVo. Expect a lot of flack for this decision. Here’s hoping an enterprising hacker will figure out a work-around so your current loyal customers can enjoy the new interface, too. After all, we do give you $12.95 a month anyway. A little appreciation and respect would be nice. → Read More
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